SINGAPORE – Viddsee, the leading creator platform, is thrilled to announce 20 films as finalists for its anticipated Juree Awards Asia 2023. For the first time ever, Viddsee will also partner with TikTok, the global leader for short-form mobile videos, for the Vertical Storytelling Category. TikTok will be supporting the promotion of the Juree Awards Asia on its platform and will also ensure that finalist content gets the maximum viewer exposure it deserves.
The Juree Awards Asia 2023 have received tremendous support with over 300 submissions from creators around Asia, which signals positive growth for the content creation industry.
Other concepts submitted for the Juree Awards Asia include documentaries, narratives, and animation.
With TikTok’s expertise in short-form video content and Viddsee’s strong storytelling community, this collaboration further strengthens and spotlights the region’s finest filmmakers, storytellers, and content creators.
“We’ve garnered over 300 submissions for this year’s edition with a selection of diverse and genre-binding films. The overwhelming amount of submissions provides a positive indicator of the growth of Asian stories and their emerging talents. Today’s creators are bold and unafraid of sharing challenging narratives; using storytelling as a tool to shape conventions and perceptions on issues like poverty, parenthood, grief and loss, and even sex work,” said Kenny Tan, Vice President, Studios at Viddsee.
On the collaboration with TikTok, Kenny added: “We’re also ecstatic to join hands with an industry giant like TikTok as this partnership will showcase our commitment to fostering a bigger stage for creators in Asia. TikTok’s platform offers a vast network of audiences which would greatly help our 20 finalists gain larger exposure and boost their careers.”
Viddsee invites audiences to vote for their favorite films; vertical category voting will be done on TikTok and Viddsee
Further enhancing audience engagement, Viddsee announces the launch of its Audience Choice Awards from now until November 13. In the Open Category, viewers can vote for their favorite films on Viddsee.com. For the Vertical category, TikTok will provide an additional platform where audiences get to support their preferred films by liking, sharing, and commenting.
Doreen Tan, Creator Community and Content Partnerships Lead at TikTok Singapore, shared “As the leading destination for short-form mobile video, TikTok recognizes the power of storytelling in connecting and inspiring the wider community. Through this collaboration with Viddsee, we hope to provide a platform for filmmakers and content creators to showcase and express their talent while fostering a deeper appreciation for Asian storytelling on the global stage.”
Five films will be selected for Juree Awards Asia 2023 where the Gold and Silver Awards for the Open Category, the Grand Prize Award for the Vertical Storytelling Category and two Audience Choice Awards which will be determined by Viddsee’s audience network.
Stay tuned for updates on the Juree Awards Asia where the award ceremony is expected to be held exclusively live on Viddsee.com and TikTok on December 8.
Short Films – Open Category Shortlist
| Country | Title | Director | Synopsis |
| South Korea | Favor | Sunwoo Kim | When his mother had some problems and left home, Seonwoo came back home to take care of his father. His father asks him three favors during his stay. |
| Philippines | Golden Bells | Kurt Soberano | In 1979 a young Chinese-Filipino boy witnesses his father’s dream come true of opening a small clothing store in downtown Bacolod city and eventually realizes the need to maintain the family business for love and legacy. |
| Taiwan | My Daughter | Wayne Huang | A father lived under the trauma of his daughter’s death from cancer. After getting along with the neighbor’s daughter who was abused by the family, he gradually finds a new life goal. |
| Indonesia | Necessity of Life | Kevin Rahardjo | In the middle of the night, a middle-aged taxi driver who had no passengers all day finally had the opportunity to give a ride to an office lady who worked overtime. Arriving at their destination, the man finds money on the passenger seat. He faces a difficult decision between returning the money or using it to pay his daughter’s medical expenses. |
| Taiwan | Neko and Flies | Shih-Han Tsao | Guards looking after ships usually turn a blind eye to troubles as long as the ship remains safe. However, Chuang kind-heartedly shelters the intellectually challenged prostitute, Neko, in a dilapidated ship, while being involved in disputes between foreign fishers. |
| Philippines | Pag-alala (Remembering) | Madison Base, Remy Rivera, Kristine Arante | The Barong Tagalog is a symbol of celebration and hope in Filipino culture. Many Filipino families frequently keep old Barongs in their cabinets. Maricel Amora revives these Barongs and transforms them into another Filipino emblem of joy and optimism: the parol. |
| Indonesia | Sweet Squad | Haris Supiandi | Rizal has to take the risk of being a sugar courier at the border between Indonesia and Malaysia to pay for his mother’s treatment. |
| USA | The Code of Family | Kayla Sun | After the death of her husband, an Asian grandma decides to learn computer science to fulfill his last wish, but almost jeopardizes the relationship with the rest of the family as she tries to keep it a secret. |
| Singapore | The Note | Jen Lim | To connect with her new class, an inexperienced junior college teacher asks each student to anonymously share a personal secret. Chaos ensues when a note reads: I have HIV. |
| Singapore | Traffic Light | Qing Sheng Ang | The Green Man refuses to show up at a traffic junction in Singapore. |
Short Films – Vertical Category Shortlist
| Country | Title | Director | Synopsis |
| Indonesia | Fried Chicken | Fajarudin Ajitama | A young person tries to eat fried chicken but always fails to swallow it. |
| Indonesia | A Shuttlecock to Tomorrow | Ryandira Rahardjo | A love story between a shopkeeper’s son and a former athlete’s daughter, whose relationship faces the odds of social injustice, misplaced expectations, and generational trauma. |
| Malaysia | The Disappearing Mountains of Ipoh | Yong Lin Tan | A passionate Malaysian journey to Ipoh documenting the vanishing mountains creatively. |
| Philippines | Fitted | Jaed Ababao | In a magical closet, a young boy finds a new world of joy. His mother must choose whether to encourage his pursuit of happiness in the outside world. |
| Philippines | Ma, | Dexter Paul De Jesus | A man misses the comfort of his mother’s home cooking. |
| Philippines | Bilbo | Rizza Joy Santiago | “Bilbo” is a post-apocalyptic drama that follows Carlo on his journey to find happiness despite being the last man remaining in the world. This, with the help of Bilbo, a therapy robot invented before humans went extinct. |
| Philippines | Monet | Lexian Avestruz | Monet, a minor girl, found herself engaged in a risky job with the intention to fulfill her mother’s request to bail her brother. |
| Singapore | Do Heaven Cremate Bodies? | Muhammad Hafeez Sahrin | A father has to decide to bury his son as a Taoist or Muslim. |
| Singapore | TMI | Alia Alkaff | Diana, a heartbroken microinfluencer, struggles to maintain her composure facing questions about her previous relationship. She gets too drunk and a seemingly innocent post has dire consequences for her. |
